Want to become a true TV Superstar? Then discover how with the PlayStation Move game’s creative director, Jason Wilson.
How do you use PlayStation Move in TV Superstars?
In TV Superstars players compete in five individual TV shows linked by a game world of fame and fortune in a bid to become an A-list celebrity and king or queen of the world! Each show showcases a different use for PlayStation Move. First of all we use the Playstation Eye camera to capture the player's face and emotions which makes the game a giggle to play as you see yourself as a photo quality avatar in-game that emotes as you play.
In Big Beat Kitchen, our hip hop cooking show, the player uses the controller as a device to pour, chop, stir and cook, just as you would in a real cooking show, which really shows off the accuracy of the controller. Not forgetting the moments you also have to sing along with and cook with our host Big Chilli D!
In Let's Get Physical players use PS Move to control their body movements to perform stunts such as running and balancing atop a giant inflatable wheel without falling off. You also get to use the Move controller to paint make-up onto your avatar's face or act, perform and record voice-overs to create your very own TV commercials to show your friends and family, and much much more.
What are the benefits of using PS Move in TV Superstars?
The accuracy it affords players to perform with. Playing the cooking show while holding a bottle of milk as you would in real life and then pouring it all over your kitchen surface sounds trivial but it's really satisfying due to the accurate and absolute positioning that PS Move allows - kids would really enjoy making a mess! The real three dimensional movement of the PS Move motion controller allowed us to develop some great spatial gameplay.
How has the high degree of accuracy and speed afforded by PS Move helped in creating TV Superstars?
With the absolute positioning capabilities of PS Move we soon came to the realisation that within the concept of TV Superstars we could create some brilliant spatial gameplay so we developed Big Beat Kitchen with the aim of creating a realistic cooking show to show off what PS Move was capable of, of course with our own unique spin!
We had a great excuse to try out different uses of the controller because each of the TV shows within TV Superstars is very different. At times it made things difficult because we essentially ended up making five very different games that also contain various challenges and levels. We've only been able to show a small fraction of the game so far; the best is yet to come!
How does the inclusion of PS Move change the way you approach and play TV Superstars compared to other titles in that genre?
A lot of other games in the same genre as TV Superstars essentially use their controller as you would a mouse and there is not much three dimensional movement. We wanted to create gameplay that exploited the three dimensional space of the player's environment and to try and get them to move more.
What is the most exciting aspect of using PS Move in TV Superstars?
As developers it was the ability to experiment with new control methods and try new things out that really challenged us while making it easily accessible to everyone.
As a gamer it was the ability to create a fun casual game that I could play with my girlfriend or friends and family, and enjoy the ease of play that PS Move provides. The PlayStation Eye camera and its microphone were a plus too as it meant we could do fun things such as mapping the player's face onto superstar avatars and use the PlayStation Eye microphone to put players' voices in the game. Add all these components together and you've got a great deal of fun that allows players to express themselves in silly situations and have a laugh.
What were your favourite moments of developing TV Superstars with PS Move?
Using the PlayStation Eye camera to get our faces in the game and then dance about using the PS Move motion controller. That was a long night but we laughed so much when we saw our actual avatars in-game responding to our actions.
What challenges did you encounter in creating TV Superstars with something as innovative as PS Move?
We knew we wanted to have some gameplay that used three dimensional spatial positioning for gameplay, such as in Big Beat Kitchen. This sounded relatively simple on paper but in practise proved to be more difficult than we first thought. The big challenge was that we had to make it easy to use and accessible for everyone, but sometimes we over thought solutions and had to rethink our approach. The resulting gameplay is pretty sweet now and very easy to pick up. Using PS Move feels like second nature even though players are doing quite complex movements.
Is there anything else you want to add about TV Superstars and PlayStation Move?
If you want to have a really good fun night in with friends or the family playing a game that makes you the star of the show then play TV Superstars! If you want to play and perform in five very different TV shows that feature a wide range of fantastic uses of PS Move then buy a copy of TV Superstars!
As a development team using the PS Move motion controller we had a lot of fun making this game, and we think this shines through in the final game as our user testing sessions have gone extremely well! Capturing your likeness in-game and performing while appearing on screen in a variety of funny TV show situations never gets old and you'll have a lot of laughs trying out new things. Five unique TV shows that feature a wide range of PS Move actions and some great unlockable features makes for a brilliant party game experience. Have fun!
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